#e-commerce
E-commerce
Accounting solutions for online stores and e-commerce businesses
Amazon FBA Reserve Holds Aren't an Expense: How to Book Withheld Settlement Funds
An Amazon FBA reserve is money Amazon owes you, not a fee — book the withheld settlement as a current asset (Amazon Reserved Balances), not a P&L expense, so revenue is not understated and bank reconciliation ties.
Back-to-School Sales Tax Holidays in 17 States: Dates, Price Caps, and Why Your Online Store Isn't Exempt
Seventeen states run back-to-school sales tax holidays in summer 2026, from Florida's 32-day window to Iowa's Friday-Saturday weekend, each with its own price caps — $75 clothing in Ohio, $300 in Connecticut, $40 on Maryland backpacks. Participation is mandatory for most registered retailers, and destination sourcing means online sellers with nexus must honor the holiday of the delivery state.
Print-on-Demand Bookkeeping: Why Your Printful Bill Is COGS, Not an Expense
Printful and Printify fulfillment charges typically run 45-55% of retail price and belong in Schedule C Part III as cost of goods sold, not in general expenses. This guide separates the two print-on-demand models, shows why a 50% COGS ratio means a $30 sale yields about $6 of contribution after ads and processing, and lays out a chart of accounts and monthly reconciliation that keep margins and taxes correct.
Why You Got a 1099-K for $650 When Your Friend Didn't: The $600 State Patchwork Behind the Federal $20,000
Congress restored the federal 1099-K threshold to $20,000 and 200 transactions in July 2025, but nine states still require a form at $600 and four more sit between $1,000 and $2,500 — so a $650 Etsy sale produces a 1099-K in Massachusetts and nothing in Texas. Includes the state-by-state threshold tiers and how to reconcile a gross form total down to actual taxable profit.
Agentic Commerce Has Arrived: How to Book and Reconcile Sales Made by AI Shopping Agents
AI agents now check out on a customer's behalf over the same card rails, so an agentic sale books like any card sale — but the payout looks identical to a normal one unless you tag it. A merchant's guide to channel tags, gross-vs-net payout splits, storing intent and cart mandate IDs, daily reconciliation, and the product-data hygiene agents actually read.
Does DAC7 Apply to US Sellers? What Etsy, eBay, and Amazon Report to the EU Every January 31
DAC7 (Council Directive 2021/514) makes marketplaces report seller data to EU tax authorities by January 31 each year. For goods, you stay exempt only if you are under both 30 transactions and €2,000 on that platform for the calendar year — miss either prong and you are reportable, and ignoring the verification request lets the platform withhold payouts after two reminders and 60 days.
New Jersey's $5,000 to $1.5 Million Data Broker Law: What Selling Customer Data Now Costs Small Businesses
New Jersey's A5328 (signed June 30 2026) charges $5,000 to $1.5 million a year to register as a data broker, and extends that regime to first-party 'data collectors' that sell data gathered from their own customers. Selling sensitive data is banned outright with no consent exception at $50,000 per record, effective immediately, while registration and fees are expected to be enforced from June 2027 under a $2,500-per-day penalty.
Outsourcing Fulfillment to a 3PL: The Inventory Accounting Playbook for E-Commerce Sellers
A 3PL never owns your inventory — it stays on your balance sheet at cost until a customer buys it. Map the fee stack (receiving, storage, pick/pack, returns) to a chart of accounts, post the five journal entries you actually need, reconcile WMS on-hand to your ledger monthly, and apply LCNRV write-downs to aged stock under ASC 330.
The Federal 1099-K Threshold Is $20,000 Again — But Your State May Still Require One at $600: A State-by-State Guide for Online Sellers and Gig Platforms
Federal 1099-K filing reverted to $20,000 and more than 200 transactions for 2026, but Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia, DC, Montana and North Carolina still require it at $600 — learn which states keep the lower threshold, how payment-card and TPSO rules differ, and how to book gross, fees, and sales tax so your books tie to every form you receive.
Amazon's 2026 FBA Fee Overhaul: How the Fuel Surcharge, Price Bands, and Low-Inventory Fees Change Your Per-Unit Margin Math
Amazon's 2026 FBA fee overhaul restructured US fulfillment fees into price bands (under $10, $10–$50, over $50), layered on a 3.5% fuel surcharge that is excluded from the published rate card, and moved the low-inventory fee to the per-SKU level — changes that quietly reshape per-unit margin math for FBA sellers.
Product Liability Insurance for Online Sellers: What Dropshippers and Amazon FBA Merchants Actually Need
Online sellers, dropshippers, and Amazon FBA merchants sit inside the strict-liability distribution chain even when they never touch the goods. This guide covers Amazon's $1 million insurance requirement, the gaps standard policies leave — recalls, fines, claims-made traps — and the bookkeeping records that make an eighteen-month-old claim survivable.
California Just Legalized DTC Spirits Shipping: What AB 1246's One-Year Pilot Means for Craft Distillers
AB 1246 creates a Jan 1 2026–Jan 1 2027 pilot letting qualifying craft distillers ship spirits direct to California consumers — permits, limits, and bookkeeping.